Two Cases of "Muslims would never do a thing like that"

At least 73 people were killed and hundreds injured. And of course we all know that Islam is a Religion of Peace, and therefore it simply isn’t possible that its peaceful and moderate adherents would ever be moved to violence. It must therefore be the fault of…the Zionists!

Following are excerpts from a statement by Egyptian MP Mustafa Bakri, which aired on Sawt Al-Sha’b TV on February 2, 2012.Mustafa Bakri: Our country is entering a state of anarchy. This anarchy is caused by America, Israel and the former regime. Look at the New Middle East scheme. Don’t talk about all the minute details. What happened in Port Said is a continuation of what happened in Muhammad Mahmoud Street, in Al-Qasr Al-Ayni Street, across from the government, across from Maspero, and in the soccer match against Tunisia. They are all connected. It is an attempt to bring this country down.

Mustafa Bakri is a genius! How did he manage to figure that all out by himself?

Despite all theÂ video evidenceÂ [apparently now removed by YouTube], the military regimeÂ insistedÂ that it would “never, never” run over civilians; that the very idea was “impossible, impossible!” It even showed a video of a military-vehicle running amuck, claiming it was hijacked by Coptic protesters (it wasÂ later revealedÂ that an Egyptian soldier was, in fact, inside driving).

More recently, Mohamad Tantawi, the head of the militaryâ€”and de facto head of Egyptâ€”insisted that the widely circulated video of soldiers beating, stripping, and kicking a female protester is “entirely fake”â€”a ludicrous assertion, even ifÂ Jimmy CarterÂ supports it.

Who is the latest victim to be scapegoated for the military’s crimes against its own citizenry? None other than the U.S.A.

Ongoing accusations that American officials were involved in killing Egyptian civilians have prompted the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to deny it through a January 27Â press release:

As we have stated in previous press releases, there is absolutely no truth to reports that U.S. embassy employees or diplomats were involved in hit-and-run incidents using U.S. diplomatic vehicles, injuring or killing protestors in January 2011 in Cairo. There is also no truth to statements alleging that the keys inside U.S. diplomatic vehicles are coded and can only be used by U.S. Embassy employees. On January 28, 2011, however, a number of our U.S. Embassy vehicles were stolen. After these vehicles were stolen, we heard reports of their use in violent and criminal acts. If true, we deplore these acts and the perpetrators. Egyptian authorities have conducted an investigation that has led to the recovery of some of these stolen vehicles.

Who is behind these accusations? The military? As mentioned, itÂ didÂ make similar accusations against Coptic protesters, saying they hijacked and manned the military-vehicles that ran over fellow Copts at Masperoâ€”only to be exposed as lying byÂ Al Dalil.